ARMY LIST: The Homecoming Queen has a Lasgun!
Hi everybody, JWolf here.
I get a lot of requests for my current IG list and playstyle so here you go. Here’s the list and doctrines I won the January Austin-BFG Tournament with, with discussion to follow. Remember that this was a no-comp “Heavy” Tournament, which means I reasonably could expect to face Nob Bikers, Mech Eldar (with Eldrad), Twin Lash Princes, Goatboy, and other maximized lists of evilness.
JWolf’s Imperial Guard: 2000pts
Doctrines
-Sharpshooters
-Veterans
-Ratlings
-Drop Troops
-Close Order Drill
HQ:
-Junior Officer (Honorifica), Banner
-Support Team (Lascannons, sharpshooters)
-Support Team (Lascannons, sharpshooters)
-Support Team (Auto-cannons, sharpshooters)
-Support Team (Heavy bolters, sharpshooters)
-Lascannon Sentinel
ELITES:
-10 Ratlings
– Veterans (3 melta, shotgun, ccw+pistol, shotgun sarge)
– Veterans (3 melta, shotgun, ccw+pistol, shotgun sarge)
TROOPS:
-Junior Officer + scrubs
Infantry Squad (Lascannon/Plasma)
Infantry Squad (Meltagun/Vet Sarge)
-Armored Fist (Meltagun/ Vet Sarge)
FAST ATTACK:
-Hellhound
-Hellhound
HEAVY:
-Leman Russ (3x Heavy Bolters)
-Demolisher (Lascannon, Plasma Cannons)
-Basilisk (Indirect)
Tactics:
This is a very heavy list for me – I almost never take the Lascannon support teams or the Veterans doctrine. Here’s how I like to play it:
Support Weapons and HQ form the center of the castle, with the Lascannon teams ideally placed on high ground. This gives them LD 9 with rerolls, almost guaranteeing they will die in place, not break.
The Ratlings grab a piece of cover and shoot at big nasty things. Ratlings are very much worth it in 5e, just remember that it is better to drop down and get the 2+ cover save (and not have to take a morale test) if there are tons of wound rolls incoming.
The Veterans hide behind walls and/or tanks, ready to pour short-range death into enemies that come close. Alternatively they can drop or outflank as needed.
Troops avoid dying, shoot what they can, and sacrifice themselves for the team as needed. Usually at least one Troop unit starts in reserve, preserving the ability to hold an objective late in the game.
Hellhounds make people cry. No one likes being covered in burning Promethium. I tend to use them either as anti-assault walls, or, on the rare turns they have working guns, burn people.
The big tanks do what big tanks do – drop pie plates and hope to kill something. The interaction of TLOS rules, area terrain, and barrage ignoring intervening cover (and hitting side armor) make the Basilisk able to contribute well enough to keep its place, but just barely. The 14/13/11 Demolisher is a consistently great killer; its cannon destroys Plaguebearers and Nob Bikers, two of the worst opponent units for the Guard.
In objective-driven scenarios, the overall plan is kill all opponent scoring units so they cannot control objectives, and preserve my scoring units to grab objectives. I hold at least 2 scoring units in reserve in each objective-driven game, either to drop in or just walk in on my board edge. The presence of so much AT firepower means that tanks have trouble reaching the lines, and infantry have to approach on a broad front to minimize the effect of the ordnance and Inferno Cannons. This makes it hard for my opponent to concentrate firepower on units and wipe them out.
For kill points, I just have to remember to shoot units dead and move to the next one. A couple rounds of good shooting reduces opponent firepower and assault potential to the point that the Guard can win Annihilation without killing every model, but it is best to ignore the kill points and kill things in the standard order of operations: things that kill my tanks at range, assault troops at close range, fast troop units, large assault units, and everybody else. Yes, I have a lot of fairly easy to get Kill Points. Making an Imperial Guard army that is optimized for kill points is like teaching your grandma to play tackle football; you can do it, but it doesn’t make any sense and may qualify as abuse in some jurisdictions.
JWolf’s Q&A
Now answers to questions before they are asked:
What do you do about CC armies? I shoot them. I screen with tanks moving 12”. If they reach my lines, I move screening units in front and endeavor to allow them to only kill one unit. Roughriders are not cost efficient and countercharge is not part of my strategy here. In Fifth Edition no Guard unit is a good CC choice.
Why don’t you take (favorite unit X)? Because I’ve used everything available to the Guard and my style of play makes these units most efficient for killing everything.
What do you do about outflanking Genestealers? Snikrot? Drop Pod Assault? I take my lumps and kill them. I have been known to block a board edge entirely and spread units so that no Drop Pods can land in the interior of my units.
How is this list fun to play with(or play against)? Lists are not fun to play; opponents can be. I had an excellent time with each of my opponents for the tournament, and believe they also enjoyed themselves.
Can you post some battle reports? I’ll put them in the comments over the next few days.
~Comments welcome, and enjoy that shoutout all you Downtown Julie Brown fans!
